CN108780155B

CN108780155B - Positioning method, terminal and server

Info

Publication number: CN108780155B
Application number: CN201780012495.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 隆仲莹; 范毅; 陈崇录; 孙树辉; 潘光胜
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Honor Device Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-01-11
Filing date: 2017-04-28
Publication date: 2021-03-09
Anticipated expiration: 2037-04-28
Also published as: WO2018129838A1; CN108780155A; CN113064185B; CN113064185A

Abstract

A positioning method, a terminal and a server are used for enabling the terminal to quickly acquire satellite data corresponding to a target area in a target time period. The method comprises the following steps: dividing the map into M partitions according to a set rule, and determining that satellite data corresponding to the N partitions in the map within a set time range in the future needs to be acquired by a first terminal, wherein M, N is a positive integer, and M is greater than or equal to N; a first terminal sends a request message to a server, wherein the request message carries indication information of a set time range and N partitions; the first terminal receives a response message returned by the server, wherein the response message carries satellite data which are obtained by the server according to historical satellite data and correspond to the N partitions within a set time range; the satellite data corresponding to one partition comprises satellite data of each satellite passing through the space above the partition within a set time range.

Description

Positioning method, terminal and server

This application claims priority from a chinese patent application filed on 11.01.2017 under the name of "a method and apparatus for GPS positioning" with the application number 201710020365.4, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a positioning method, a terminal, and a server.

Background

The Global Positioning System (GPS), which may be called a satellite Positioning System, is a technology for accurately Positioning any object by using satellites. The GPS can ensure that at least 4 satellites can be observed at any point on the earth at any time, so that the functions of navigation, positioning, time service and the like can be realized.

The GPS system comprises: a space part, a control part and a user part. The space part of the GPS is composed of 24 GPS working satellites, and each GPS working satellite sends out a satellite signal for navigation and positioning. The control part of the GPS is composed of a monitoring system which is distributed on the whole world and consists of a plurality of tracking stations, and the monitoring system is used for monitoring the working state of the satellite. The user part of the GPS consists of a GPS receiver, data processing software and corresponding user equipment, such as a computer meteorological instrument, etc., for receiving signals transmitted by GPS satellites and using these signals for positioning, etc.

In a conventional satellite positioning scheme, on a terminal such as a mobile phone or a wearable device product, a GPS receiver of the terminal is often required to poll and receive satellite signals, and after the satellite signals of the current and local area are acquired in real time, a processor of the terminal completes mapping on a map to realize positioning. It can be seen that the following disadvantages exist in the conventional satellite positioning scheme: on one hand, the positioning time depends on the performance of hardware equipment such as a terminal GPS receiver, a processor and the like; on the other hand, polling for satellite signals may require coverage of all satellite parameters, and may result in a longer time to accurately receive the satellite signals of the desired satellite, which may in turn result in a longer time to subsequently map or navigate using the satellite signals.

How to overcome the above drawbacks in the conventional satellite positioning scheme and improve user experience is a problem to be solved in the industry urgently.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a positioning method, a terminal and a server, which are used for enabling the terminal to rapidly acquire satellite data corresponding to a target area in a target time period.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a positioning method, including:

dividing a map into M partitions according to a set rule, and determining that satellite data corresponding to the N partitions in the map in a set time range in the future needs to be acquired by a first terminal, wherein M, N is a positive integer, and M is greater than or equal to N;

the first terminal sends a request message to a server, wherein the request message carries the set time range and the indication information of the N partitions;

the first terminal receives a response message returned by the server, wherein the response message carries satellite data which are obtained by the server according to historical satellite data and correspond to the N partitions in the set time range; the satellite data corresponding to one partition comprises satellite data of each satellite passing through the space above the partition within the set time range.

It can be seen that, in the above positioning scheme provided by the present application, the map is divided into a plurality of partitions according to a set rule, so that the terminal can selectively acquire satellite data corresponding to N partitions in the map within a set time range in the future as required, and notify the satellite data to the server, after the server knows the N partitions and the set time range on the map corresponding to the satellite data required by the terminal, the server can calculate satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within the set time range based on historical satellite data, and feed the satellite data back to the terminal, and through the above process, the terminal can quickly acquire the satellite data corresponding to the target area within the target time period.

In a possible implementation, after the first terminal receives the response message returned by the server, the method further includes:

and the first terminal searches satellite signals in the set time range by using the satellite data corresponding to the N subareas in the set time range carried in the response message.

Therefore, through the mode, the first terminal can acquire the satellite signals in a targeted manner within the set time range according to the pre-acquired satellite data of the N subareas within the set time range, the defect that the time for acquiring the satellite signals is long due to the fact that the satellites are searched in a polling mode at present is overcome, the searching efficiency is improved, and the satellite positioning time is shortened.

and if the first terminal determines that communication connection is established between the first terminal and a second terminal, the first terminal transmits satellite data corresponding to the N partitions in the set time range to the second terminal so that the second terminal searches satellite signals by using the satellite data in the set time range.

It can be seen that, by the above manner, the first terminal may transmit the acquired satellite data to the second terminal, so that the second terminal can also acquire a satellite signal in a targeted manner based on the satellite data within a set time range, thereby providing search efficiency and reducing satellite positioning time.

In a possible implementation, the determining, by the first terminal, that satellite data corresponding to N partitions needs to be acquired within a set time range in the future includes:

the first terminal receives an instruction for acquiring satellite data, wherein the instruction carries the set time range and the indication information of the N subareas;

and the first terminal determines the set time range and the N partitions according to the instruction.

It can be seen that, in the above manner, the user of the first terminal can obtain satellite data corresponding to the target area in the future time period required by the user for subsequent satellite positioning.

In a possible implementation, the setting rule is to divide the map according to longitude and/or latitude; or, the set rule is to divide the map according to administrative regions.

It can be seen that, in the above manner, each partition has a certain geographical range, so that the computation complexity of the server in estimating the satellite data is reduced.

In one possible implementation, the satellite data for each satellite that passes over the partition within the set time range includes at least an ID, orbit data, and clock data for each satellite that passes over the partition within the set time range.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a positioning method, including:

a server receives a request message sent by a first terminal, wherein the request message carries N subareas in a map corresponding to satellite data required to be acquired by the first terminal and indication information for setting a time range; the map is divided into M partitions according to a set rule, wherein M, N is a positive integer, and M is greater than or equal to N;

the server calculates satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within the set time range according to historical satellite data; the satellite data corresponding to one partition comprises satellite data of each satellite passing through the space above the partition within the set time range;

and the server sends a response message to the first terminal, wherein the response message carries satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within the set time range.

In one possible implementation, the historical satellite data is satellite data issued by each satellite in the GPS that the server acquires and stores on the server.

For implementation and advantageous effects of any one of the above second aspect or the second aspect of the present invention, reference may be made to implementation and advantageous effects of any one of the above first aspect or the first aspect of the present invention, and repeated details are not repeated.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a positioning apparatus, where the apparatus is deployed in a terminal, and the apparatus includes: functional modules for executing any one of the above first aspect or the first aspect to implement the positioning method.

The implementation and the advantageous effects of the apparatus according to any of the third aspect or the third aspect of the present invention may be mutually referred to the implementation and the advantageous effects of the method according to any of the first aspect or the first aspect of the present invention, and repeated details are not repeated.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a positioning apparatus, the apparatus being deployed in a server, the apparatus comprising: and the functional module is used for executing any one of the above second aspect or the second aspect to realize the positioning method.

The implementation and the beneficial effects of the device according to any one of the above-mentioned fourth aspect or the fourth aspect of the present invention can be mutually referred to the implementation and the beneficial effects of the method according to any one of the above-mentioned second aspect or the second aspect of the present invention, and repeated details are not repeated.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a terminal, including: a processing unit and a wireless communication unit;

wherein the processing unit is configured to implement the positioning method by the wireless communication unit executing any one of the above first aspect or the first aspect.

The implementation and beneficial effects of any one of the above-mentioned fifth aspect or the fifth aspect of the present invention for implementing the terminal may be mutually referred to as the implementation and beneficial effects of any one of the above-mentioned first aspect or the first aspect of the present invention for implementing the positioning method, and repeated details are not repeated.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing computer software instructions for executing the functions implemented by any one of the first aspect and the first aspect, wherein the computer software instructions comprise a program designed to execute the method implemented by any one of the first aspect and the first aspect.

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a server, including: a processing unit and a wireless communication unit;

wherein the processing unit is configured to implement the positioning method by the wireless communication unit executing any one of the above second aspects or second aspects.

The implementation and the advantageous effects of any one of the above seventh aspect or the seventh aspect of the present invention for implementing the server may be mutually referred to with the implementation and the advantageous effects of any one of the above second aspect or the second aspect of the present invention for implementing the positioning method, and repeated details are not repeated.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing computer software instructions for executing the functions of any one of the second aspect and the second aspect, wherein the computer software instructions comprise a program designed to execute the method of any one of the second aspect and the second aspect.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic architecture diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of N partitions in a map in a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a bluetooth connection established between a first terminal and a second terminal in a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a positioning method provided in an embodiment of the present application in practical application;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a positioning device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 is a schematic flowchart of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a positioning device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a server according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The application provides a positioning method, a terminal and a server, which are used for enabling the terminal to rapidly acquire satellite data corresponding to a target area in a target time period. It should be noted that the positioning method, the terminal and the server provided by the present application are based on the same inventive concept, and the principles of solving the problems are similar, so the implementation of the positioning method, the terminal and the server provided by the present application can be referred to each other, and repeated details are not repeated.

In the positioning scheme provided by the embodiment of the application, the map is divided into a plurality of subareas according to a set rule, so that when satellite data corresponding to one or more subareas on the map in a future set time range needs to be acquired, the first terminal can send a request message carrying indication information of the set time range and the one or more subareas to the server and receive a response message returned by the server and carrying satellite data corresponding to the one or more subareas in the set time range, thereby achieving the purpose of quickly acquiring the satellite data corresponding to a target area in a target time period; furthermore, because the first terminal can acquire satellite data corresponding to one or more partitions in a set time range in the future in advance through the manner, when a satellite signal needs to be searched in the set time range, a target satellite can be rapidly acquired according to the satellite data acquired in advance in the set time range, and the defect that the time required for acquiring the satellite signal is long due to the fact that the satellite is searched in a polling mode at present is avoided.

It is noted that the terms "first," "second," and the like, when used in the description of the present application, are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, nor order.

Fig. 1 shows an architecture diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in fig. 1, the exemplary communication system 100 includes: a server 101 and a plurality of terminals 102 to 104. The terminals 102-104 and the server 101 can communicate through a network 105; the terminal 103 and the terminal 102 can communicate with each other through a short-range wireless communication connection.

It should be understood that the communication system 100 shown in fig. 1 is for example only and is not intended to limit the present application. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that communication system 100 may include other devices and that the number of servers and terminals may be configured according to particular needs during a particular implementation. Furthermore, the terms "system" and "network" are interchangeable.

The servers involved in embodiments of the present application may comprise individual server devices or clusters of local or remote distributed server devices. The server may establish a communication connection with the terminal through a communication network such as an open internet, an intranet, a firewall-protected secure network, a wide area cellular network, or the like. One or more server applications may be hosted in the server for serving client applications running in the terminal.

The terminal involved in the embodiment of the present application may be various wireless communication devices having long-distance wireless communication and/or short-distance wireless communication functions;

short-range wireless communication allows a terminal to exchange data with other terminals that are close enough to use signals in a low frequency band that are transmitted close to the ground rather than propagating in the air. Antennas used for short-range wireless communications may be referred to as low frequency antennas. Typical examples of short-range wireless communication include Bluetooth (Bluetooth), wireless local area network (Wi-Fi), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), and the like;

the long-distance wireless communication allows a terminal equipped with a long-distance wireless communication function to receive or transmit a wireless signal to one or more of a base station, a terminal, and a server in a wireless communication network established according to a corresponding wireless communication standard, using a signal in a high frequency band having strong linearity. Antennas used for long-range wireless communications may be referred to as high-frequency antennas. Typical examples of Long-range wireless Communication include Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Code Division Multiple Access 2000, wideband WCDMA (Wide-CDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-a), among others.

For example, the terminal 102 is a mobile phone having a wireless cellular communication system and a wireless local area network communication system, and is capable of performing long-distance wireless communication and short-distance wireless communication with a nearby terminal; the terminal 103 is a smart watch equipped with a short-range wireless communication system (such as bluetooth), and can perform short-range wireless communication only with a terminal in the vicinity (as shown in fig. 1, communication can be performed between the terminal 103 and the terminal 102 through a short-range wireless communication connection).

The terminal related in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as a User Equipment (UE), a mobile terminal, a mobile device, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a User terminal, a wireless terminal, a handheld device, a client, and the like.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic structural diagram of a terminal provided in an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in fig. 2, the terminal 200 may have components such as a wireless communication unit 210, a GPS unit 220, an input unit 230, an output unit 240, a sensing unit 250, an interface unit 260, a storage unit 270, a processing unit 280, and a power supply unit 290. These components may communicate over one or more communication buses or signal lines. These components may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software, including one or more signal processing and/or application specific integrated circuits,

referring to fig. 2, the wireless communication unit 210 generally includes one or more devices allowing wireless communication between the terminal 200 and a wireless communication system, communication between the terminal 200 and another terminal, communication between the terminal 200 and an external server, and the like. Further, the wireless communication unit 210 generally includes one or more devices that connect the terminal 200 to one or more networks. As shown in fig. 2, for example, the wireless communication unit 210 may include a wireless cellular communication module 211 (operable to provide a long-range wireless communication function), a wireless internet module 212, a short-range wireless communication module 213 (operable to provide a short-range wireless communication function), and the like.

The GPS unit 220 is used to allow communication between the terminal 200 and satellites in the global positioning system. The GPS unit 220 may receive satellite signals (radio signals) transmitted from satellites in the GPS through an antenna, and from these satellite signals, the GPS unit 220 may generate information that is usable for various applications. For example, each satellite in the GPS often broadcasts its own ephemeris data (ephemeris information) repeatedly according to a fixed period, based on the principle of satellite positioning technology, the GPS unit 220 may determine the position information (e.g., longitude/latitude information) of the current position of the terminal 200 after accurately knowing the satellite clock (clock) and orbit information of 3 to 4 satellites in the GPS, and these information may be used for applications such as navigation and map mapping as needed.

The input unit 230 is generally configured to receive various types of input information such as audio, video, tactile input, and the like. The input unit 230 may include, for example, a user input unit 231 (e.g., a touch screen, a touch key, a push key, a mechanical key, a soft key, etc.), an audio input unit 232 (e.g., a microphone), a camera 233, and the like. The user input unit 231 may be used to allow a user to input information; the audio input unit 232 may be used to input an audio signal; the camera 233 may be used to obtain images or video. Data is obtained by the input unit 230 and may be analyzed and processed by the processing unit 280 according to device parameters, user commands, and combinations thereof.

The output unit 240 is generally configured to output various types of information such as audio, video, tactile output, and the like. The output unit 240 may have, for example, a display unit 241, an audio output unit 242, and the like. The display unit 241 may have an interlayer structure or an integral structure with a touch sensor for facilitating a touch screen, or the like.

Among other things, the touch screen may provide an input interface and an output interface between the terminal 200 and a user. On one hand, the user input unit 231 can be used for receiving user input, such as collecting contact or non-contact operation of the user on or near the user input unit, and driving the corresponding connection device according to a preset program; the display unit 241 is alternatively available for displaying visual output to the user, which may include graphics, text, icons, video, and any combination thereof, such as displaying information input by the user, information provided to the user, and various menus of the terminal 200, etc.

The sensing unit 250 is generally configured to sense internal information of the terminal, a surrounding environment of the terminal, user information, etc., and may be implemented by one or more sensors. The sensing unit 250 may include sensors such as a touch sensor, an acceleration sensor, a magnetic sensor, a gyro sensor, a motion sensor, a pressure sensor, an RGB sensor, an Infrared (IR) sensor, a finger scan sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an optical sensor, a battery ammeter, an environmental sensor (e.g., a barometer, a hygrometer, a thermometer, a radiation detection sensor, a light sensor, a heat sensor, a gas sensor, etc.), and a chemical sensor (e.g., an electronic nose, a biometric sensor, etc.), for example. The terminal 200 may be configured to acquire signals from and/or transmit signals to one or more sensors of the sensing unit 250.

The interface unit 260 serves as an interface with various types of external terminals that can be coupled to the terminal 200. The interface unit 260 may include, for example, any of a wired or wireless port, an external power supply port, a wired or wireless data port, a memory card port, a port for connecting a terminal having an identification module, an audio Input/Output (I/O) port, a video I/O port, a headphone port, and the like. In some cases, the terminal 200 may perform a control function associated with the connected external terminal in response to the external terminal being connected to the interface unit 260.

The storage unit 270 is typically implemented to store data to support various functions or features of the terminal 200. For example, the storage unit 270 may be configured to store application programs executed in the terminal 200, data or instructions for the operation of the terminal 200, and the like. Some of these applications may be downloaded from an external server via wireless communication. Other applications may be installed in the terminal 200 at the time of manufacture or shipment, and these applications typically correspond to basic functions of the terminal 200 (e.g., receiving calls, placing calls, receiving messages, sending messages, etc.). It is common that application programs are stored in the storage unit 270, installed in the terminal 200, and executed by the processing unit 280 to perform operations with respect to the terminal 200.

The processing unit 280 is a control center of the terminal 200, connects various parts of the entire terminal using various interfaces and lines, and performs various functions of the terminal 200 and processes data by operating or executing software programs and/or devices stored in the storage unit 270 and calling data stored in the storage unit 270, thereby performing overall monitoring of the terminal. The processing unit 280 may process signals, data, information, etc. input or output via various components shown in fig. 2, or activate an application program stored in the storage unit 270, provide or process information or functions interacting with a user. For example, the processing unit 280 may control some or all of the components of the terminal 200 according to the execution of application programs that have been stored in the storage unit 270.

The power supply unit 290 may be configured to receive external power or provide internal power to supply appropriate power required for the terminal 200 to operate the elements and components included therein. The power supply may be logically coupled to the processing unit 280 through a power management system to manage charging, discharging, and power consumption functions through the power management system. The power supply unit 290 may include a battery, and the battery may be configured to be embedded in the terminal body or configured to be detachable from the terminal body.

It should be understood that the terminal structure shown in fig. 2 is not intended to be limiting and may include more or fewer components than shown, or some components may be combined, some components may be split, or a different arrangement of components.

For example, terminals such as cell phones, tablet computers, notebook computers, etc., often have the same or more functions and components than the terminal 200 shown in fig. 2; for another example, wearable, small-sized terminals, such as smart watches, smart bracelets, smart glasses, head-mounted displays (HMDs), tend to have fewer functions and components than the terminal 200 shown in fig. 2 due to their limited size. For example, the wireless communication unit in a wearable terminal often does not include a wireless cellular communication module, but rather includes a short-range wireless communication module.

Generally, wearable terminals may be used to exchange data or collaborate with terminals in their vicinity. As shown in fig. 1, the short-range communication module that the terminal 103 can possess is sensed or recognized by the short-range communication module according to the corresponding communication protocol in the terminal 102 that is close enough to it, and when the terminal 102 senses that the terminal 103 is an authenticated terminal that can communicate with the terminal 102, the terminal 102 can transmit data processed in the terminal 102 to the terminal 103 via the short-range communication module, so that the user of the terminal 103 can use the data processed in the terminal 102 on the terminal 103. For example, when the terminal 102 runs a music playing application, the user can listen to music using the terminal 103.

Based on the terminal 200 shown in fig. 2, it can be seen that the terminal can receive satellite signals through a GPS unit configured therein. In a conventional satellite positioning scheme, a GPS unit of a terminal often polls to receive satellite signals, and thus all satellite parameters may need to be covered, which results in a long time required to accurately receive the satellite signals of a desired satellite, and relatively high performance requirements on hardware devices such as the GPS unit and a processing unit of the terminal. In order to overcome the defects in the traditional satellite positioning scheme, the terminal can quickly acquire satellite data corresponding to a target area in a target time period, and user experience is improved, the positioning scheme is provided.

Specifically, the positioning scheme provided by the embodiment of the present application can be applied to a communication system including a terminal and a server, such as the communication system 100 shown in fig. 1; specifically, the terminal and the server may be respectively configured with a functional module for implementing the positioning scheme provided in the embodiment of the present application, and the functional module for executing the process may be implemented by hardware, software programming, or a combination of hardware and software, for example, server-side software and client-side software for implementing the positioning scheme provided in the embodiment of the present application may be respectively configured on the server 101, the terminal 102, and the terminal 104 in the communication system 100.

The following describes a positioning method flow provided by the embodiment of the present application with reference to fig. 3 based on the communication system architecture shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a flowchart of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application. In particular, the process may be performed by the first terminal, such as the functional modules configured on the terminal 102 and the terminal 104 in fig. 1 to implement the process shown in fig. 3.

As shown in fig. 3, the process includes the following steps:

step 301: dividing the map into M partitions according to a set rule, and determining that satellite data corresponding to the N partitions in the map in a set time range in the future needs to be acquired by the first terminal, wherein M, N is a positive integer, and M is greater than or equal to N.

Specifically, in some practical scenarios, the set rule for dividing the map into M partitions may be to divide the map according to longitude and/or latitude. For example, the setting rule may be that longitude and latitude lines for dividing the map are determined according to the set longitude interval and latitude interval, and then each geographical area divided by the longitude and latitude lines on the map is used as each partition. It can be seen that the partitions obtained by the setting rule can be conveniently corresponding to the orbit data of the satellite, thereby being convenient for calculating the satellite data corresponding to each partition for each partition.

In some practical scenarios, the setting rule may be to divide the map according to administrative regions. For example, the sub-area may be each country on a map, or more precisely, may be an administrative region (such as province, district, county, etc.) obtained by each country performing administrative division on the prefecture. It can be seen that the partition obtained by the setting rule has the advantages of better meeting the user habit and being beneficial to improving the user experience.

It should be understood that there are other ways to set the rules for dividing the map into the partitions, and this application will not be listed here.

Specifically, the M partitions obtained by dividing the map according to the set rule may be identified by a number, a label, or a coordinate, which is not limited in the present application.

Specifically, the first terminal may determine N partitions from M partitions obtained by dividing the map, and further determine that satellite data corresponding to the N partitions needs to be acquired within a set time range in the future.

For example, the first terminal may determine 1 partition from the M partitions in the map, where N is equal to 1, and further determine that satellite data corresponding to the partition within a set time range in the future needs to be acquired; for another example, the first terminal may also determine 2 or more partitions from the M partitions in the map, and further determine that satellite data corresponding to the multiple partitions within a set time range in the future needs to be acquired.

As an example, fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating N partitions in a map in a positioning method according to some embodiments of the present application. As shown in fig. 4, the map is divided into 25 partitions of 5 × 5 according to the set rule, where M is equal to 25, and assuming that the 25 partitions are identified by numbers 1 to 25, the first terminal determines, from the 25 partitions, that satellite data corresponding to the 4 partitions of which the numbers are 7, 8, 17, and 25 in order within one set time range in the future needs to be acquired, and the area filled with oblique lines as shown in fig. 4, that is, the area corresponds to N is equal to 4.

Specifically, in a possible implementation scenario, the first terminal may receive an instruction for acquiring satellite data, so as to determine that satellite data corresponding to N partitions in a map within a set time range needs to be acquired according to the received instruction; the command for acquiring the satellite data can carry information for setting a time range and N partitions.

For example, based on the communication system example shown in fig. 1, the terminal 102 may be configured with functional modules for executing the process shown in fig. 3, and provide a menu for acquiring future satellite data to the User of the terminal 102 through a User Interface (UI).

Specifically, the menu may include a UI control for providing a user to directly confirm that satellite data in the future needs to be acquired, which is equivalent to confirm to acquire satellite data corresponding to a default partition within a default time range, where the default time may be preconfigured, and for the purpose of improving user experience, the default time may be a time length of one day or longer starting from a current time, and the default partition may also be N preconfigured partitions, for example, a partition on a map corresponding to a geographical area where the user is frequently located that is preset by the user, or the default partition may also be provided for the user to modify settings, and the like;

or, the menu may also specifically include a UI control for providing a user to select or input (including voice or typing manner, etc.) a future time range, which is equivalent to confirming to acquire satellite data corresponding to the default partition within the time range required by the user; or, the menu may also include a UI control for providing a user to select a partition or input the information of the partition required, which is equivalent to confirming to acquire satellite data corresponding to N partitions required by the user within a default time range; or, the menu may also specifically include a UI control for providing the user to select or input a future time range, and a UI control for providing the user to select a partition or input the required partition information, which is equivalent to confirming to acquire satellite data corresponding to N partitions within the time range required by the user.

Furthermore, the user of the terminal 102 may perform operations on the menu as required, for example, the user of the terminal 102 may select a time range and N partitions corresponding to satellite data to be acquired according to a geographical range in which the user may be located in a future set range, the user operation is converted into an instruction in the terminal 102 and transmitted to the processor of the terminal 102, and the processor of the terminal 102 may further determine, based on the instruction, that satellite data corresponding to the N partitions in the set time range needs to be acquired.

After determining that satellite data corresponding to N partitions in the map within the set time range needs to be acquired through step 301, the first terminal may generate a request message for acquiring the satellite data, and may further perform step 302 in the flow shown in fig. 3.

Step 302: a first terminal sends a request message to a server; wherein, the request message carries indication information for setting time range and N partitions.

Specifically, the server may be configured to receive and process a request message for acquiring satellite data from any terminal or authenticated terminal, and may be configured to return satellite data requested by the server to a corresponding terminal.

For example, still based on the communication system example shown in fig. 1, the server 101 may be configured with a function module to receive and process a request message for acquiring satellite data from any terminal or authenticated terminal, and may be configured with a function module to return satellite data requested by the corresponding terminal. For example, the server 101 may receive a request message transmitted from the terminal 102 with which a communication connection is established, and may return satellite data requested by the server to the terminal 102.

Specifically, after receiving the request message sent by the first terminal in step 301, the server may parse the request message, and determine a set time range corresponding to the satellite data required by the terminal and N partitions in the map.

In a possible implementation scenario, after determining a set time range and N partitions corresponding to satellite data required by a terminal, a server may calculate satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within the set time range according to historical satellite data, so as to return a response message carrying the satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within the set time range to a first terminal.

Specifically, the historical satellite data may be satellite data issued by each satellite in the GPS, which is acquired by the server and stored in the server.

Since each satellite in the GPS generally broadcasts real-time satellite data according to a fixed period, in some practical scenarios, a GPS unit configured to receive a satellite signal may be configured on the server to receive the satellite data broadcasted by the satellite in real time, and the satellite data may be stored in a storage unit of the server after being received, and the processing unit of the server may perform the above calculation process by reading historical satellite data stored in the storage unit. The server can also set a valid period for the stored satellite data at each time in history, so as to ensure the accuracy of the calculation result, for example, the valid period can be set to one day;

or, in some practical scenarios, the server may be configured with a communication interface for communicating with a network device storing satellite data, and the server may directly obtain historical satellite data from the network device through the communication interface. Specifically, the server may obtain historical satellite data within a preset time period before taking the current time as an endpoint, where the preset time period may be a day or longer time period; and so on.

Further, after the server acquires the historical satellite data, satellite data corresponding to the N partitions in the set time range can be calculated according to a preset algorithm. For example, the server may determine the distribution of each satellite from the historical satellite data, and further calculate the satellite data of each satellite passing through the partition in the future within the set time range for each partition in the N partitions.

Specifically, the satellite data of each satellite passing through the partition in the set time range may include an Identifier (ID), orbit data, clock data, and the like of each satellite passing through the partition in the set time range; it can be seen that the satellite data described above can be used to instruct the terminal to more efficiently search for satellite signals.

In some practical scenarios, in consideration of improving user experience, the server may also obtain historical satellite data according to a set period, calculate satellite data corresponding to each partition on the map within a default time range, and store the calculation result in the storage unit of the server, for example, satellite data corresponding to each partition may be bound and stored with each partition, and then, after the server receives the request message sent by the first terminal, if it is determined that the set time range is within the default time range, the server may directly read the stored calculation result and return the calculation result to the first terminal, so as to accelerate the response speed.

Specifically, the server may further store map data, and further return the map data of the partition bound with the satellite data while returning the satellite data required by the first terminal to the first terminal.

Through the above process, the server may return a response message carrying satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within the set time range to the first terminal. Further, the first terminal may perform step 303 in the flow shown in fig. 3.

Step 303: and the first terminal receives a response message returned by the server.

Specifically, after receiving the response message returned by the server, the first terminal may obtain satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within the required set time range by analyzing the response message.

Further, after the first terminal acquires satellite data corresponding to N partitions within a set time range, the acquired satellite data may be stored in a storage unit of the first terminal, and further, within the set time range, the first terminal may read the satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within the set time range stored in the storage unit, and search satellite signals using the satellite data; by the method, the first terminal can perform satellite search based on the acquired future satellite data pre-calculated by the server, and the satellite search method has pertinence compared with the current polling satellite search method, so that the defects that accurate satellite signals are searched and the time required for positioning is long due to current polling satellite search can be overcome;

especially, under the condition that the first terminal does not have the capability of communicating with the base station or the first terminal is offline, and the GPS unit of the first terminal cannot obtain the auxiliary positioning information, the conventional polling satellite searching scheme needs to search about 32 pseudo random noise codes (PRNs) (equivalent to the satellite signals), and through the above process shown in fig. 3, the first terminal can accurately position by searching 4 to 5 PRNs, which greatly shortens the time.

Further, after the first terminal stores the acquired satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within the set time range in the storage unit of the first terminal, if it is detected that the second terminal establishes a communication connection with the first terminal, the first terminal may transmit the satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within the set time range to the second terminal, so that the second terminal can search for a satellite signal using the satellite data within the set time range.

For example, still based on the example of the communication system shown in fig. 1, after the terminal 102 acquires satellite data corresponding to N partitions within the set time range through the above-mentioned communication process with the server 101, since it is detected that the terminal 103 establishes a communication connection with the terminal, the terminal 102 may transmit the above-mentioned satellite data acquired by the terminal to the terminal 103, so that the terminal 103 may also search for satellite signals using the above-mentioned satellite data within the set time range.

Specifically, after the terminal 103 is connected to the terminal 102, the terminal 102 may first confirm whether satellite data can be transmitted thereto; for example, the terminal 102 may authenticate the validity of the transmission to the terminal 103, which will not be described in detail in this application.

In particular, the second terminal may be connected to the first terminal via a short-range wireless communication technology, which is described above, and may specifically include bluetooth, Wi-Fi, infrared data transmission, and the like.

Further, the second terminal may specifically be a terminal having a short-range wireless communication function, and not having a function of communicating with the base station and/or a function of communicating with the server. For example, a bluetooth bracelet and a bluetooth watch, which only have a GPS unit, are wearable devices and are limited in size and often do not have a function of communicating with a base station. When the second terminal searches satellite signals for GPS positioning, the second terminal cannot directly obtain assistance from a base station or an Internet server, so that the time for searching the satellite signals to complete positioning is long (usually more than 30 seconds) when the second terminal works alone, and the user experience is poor; particularly, when the second terminal moves to a completely new geographic range, the time required for the GPS unit configured on the second terminal to search satellite signals to complete positioning is longer;

through the communication process provided by the embodiment of the application, the second terminal of the type can establish a communication connection with the first terminal through a short-distance wireless communication function, and then after the first terminal obtains satellite data corresponding to N partitions within a set time range through the communication process between the first terminal and the server, the satellite data can be indirectly obtained through the communication connection established between the first terminal, so that when the first terminal is separated from the first device to work alone, the obtained satellite data can be used for purposefully searching satellite signals, the rapid positioning is realized, and the user experience is improved.

For example, based on the above description related to fig. 1 and fig. 2, in some practical scenarios, the first terminal may specifically be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook, and the like, and the second terminal may specifically be a smart watch, a smart bracelet, smart glasses, and the like.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating that a bluetooth connection is established between a first terminal and a second terminal in a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in fig. 5, the first terminal 501 may establish a bluetooth connection with the second terminal 502 configured with a bluetooth function module through the bluetooth function module configured thereon, so that after the first terminal 501 acquires satellite data corresponding to N partitions within a set time range through the process shown in fig. 3, the satellite data may be transmitted to the second terminal 502 through the bluetooth connection, so that the second terminal 502 may search for satellite signals through the GPS unit configured thereon within the set time range.

Specifically, in some scenarios in which the positioning solution provided by the above embodiment of the present Application is implemented by software, the server-side function in the above communication process may be configured as an Application (App) service program configured on a server, and may provide a first type of Application program (or may be denoted as a master App) that can be configured on a first terminal of a type such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or the like, and a second type of Application program (or may be denoted as a slave App) that can be configured on a second terminal of a type such as a bluetooth bracelet, a bluetooth watch, or the like;

furthermore, the first terminal can provide satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within a set time range for the first terminal through an App service program on the main App trigger server; the second terminal can trigger the main App of the first terminal to transmit the acquired satellite data corresponding to the N partitions in the set time range through the auxiliary App.

In consideration of the fact that the satellite data may have a large data volume, when software is implemented, corresponding storage spaces may be configured for the App service program, the master App, and the slave App, and specifically, the storage space may be one hundred to two hundred megabytes, for example.

Specifically, for example, fig. 6 shows a communication flow diagram of a positioning method provided in the embodiment of the present application in practical application. As shown in fig. 6, the App service program is configured on the server, the master App is configured on the mobile phone (corresponding to the first terminal), the slave App is configured on the watch (corresponding to the second terminal), and the communication flow is as follows:

step 600: the map is divided into a plurality of partitions (corresponding to the M partitions) in advance according to a predetermined rule.

Alternatively, the map may be downloaded and stored in advance on the server, the cell phone, and the watch.

Specifically, the identification information of each partition obtained by dividing the map can be configured to an App service program on the server, a master App on the mobile phone, and a slave App on the watch.

Step 601: a user starts a main App on a mobile phone;

specifically, after the main App is started, a UI menu may be provided to the user, so as to receive a user instruction for instructing a target time range (corresponding to the above-described set time range) and a target area (corresponding to the above-described N partitions) input by the user.

Step 602: the main App on the mobile phone generates a request message for requesting satellite data corresponding to a target area within a target time range according to the user instruction, and sends the request message to a server;

step 603: after receiving the request message, the App service program on the server analyzes the request message and determines a target time range and a target area corresponding to satellite data required by the mobile phone;

step 604: the App service program on the server starts calculation of satellite data corresponding to the target area within the determined target time range; specifically, the calculation can be performed by acquiring historical satellite data;

step 605: after the App service program on the server obtains the calculation result, a response message carrying the calculation result is generated and fed back to the mobile phone;

step 606: after receiving the response message, the mobile phone analyzes the response message, so that satellite data corresponding to a target area in a target time range is obtained and stored; it can be seen that, through the above steps, the mobile phone can use the acquired satellite data to search satellite signals within the target time range to complete positioning;

step 607: the watch is sensed by a Bluetooth module in the mobile phone close enough to the watch through the Bluetooth module provided by the watch; the mobile phone identifies the watch as a terminal which is authenticated and can communicate with the watch;

step 608: the mobile phone sends satellite data corresponding to a target area in a target time range stored by the mobile phone to the watch through Bluetooth connection established between the mobile phone and the watch;

step 609: the watch stores the received satellite data corresponding to the target area within the target time range, so that the satellite signals can be searched by using the stored satellite data within the target time range to complete positioning, and the defects that the conventional wearable terminal such as a watch needs to poll and search the satellite, the time consumption is long, the positioning is delayed, the user experience is poor and the like are overcome.

In summary, in the positioning scheme provided in the foregoing embodiment of the present application, the map is divided into a plurality of partitions according to the set rule, so that when satellite data corresponding to one or more partitions in a set time range in the future needs to be acquired, the first terminal may send a request message carrying indication information of the set time range and the one or more partitions to the server, and receive a response message returned by the server and carrying satellite data corresponding to the one or more partitions in the set time range, so as to achieve the purpose of quickly acquiring satellite data corresponding to a target area in a target time period;

it can be seen that, because the positioning scheme provided by the above embodiment of the present application divides the map into a plurality of partitions (for example, into administrative areas), and the like, since each partition has a certain longitude and latitude span instead of a specific location (a certain longitude and latitude), the calculation complexity can be reduced and the search time can be shortened when satellite data is estimated;

further, in the positioning scheme provided in the foregoing embodiment of the present application, the server may calculate satellite data corresponding to a target area within a future target period (for example, a day or a longer period of time) based on historical satellite data, and the first terminal may obtain the satellite data corresponding to the target area within the future target period, so that when the target period arrives, if the first terminal is in the target area and needs to search for satellite signals for positioning, the first terminal can quickly acquire satellite signals of satellites located above the target area according to the satellite data corresponding to the target area within the target time range obtained in advance, thereby avoiding a defect of long time required for acquiring satellite signals due to current satellite polling, improving positioning efficiency, and improving user experience, for example, theoretically, if only 4 to 5 PRNs are searched by the positioning scheme provided in the present application, the time required for searching 32 PRNs is greatly reduced compared with the traditional scheme;

in addition, the positioning scheme provided by the embodiment of the application can be specifically realized as an APP scheme, so that the APP scheme can be used by different terminals in the same partition, and can also be used by terminals in different partitions, the used terminals are not limited, the use time is not limited, and the terminal can be quickly positioned after being offline.

Based on the same inventive concept, the application also provides a positioning method.

Fig. 7 shows a flowchart of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application. In particular, the process may be performed by a server, such as a functional module configured on the server 101 to implement the process shown in fig. 7.

As shown in fig. 7, the process includes the following steps:

step 701: a server receives a request message sent by a first terminal, wherein the request message carries N subareas in a map corresponding to satellite data required to be acquired by the first terminal and indication information for setting a time range; the map is divided into M partitions according to a set rule, wherein M, N is a positive integer, and M is greater than or equal to N;

step 702: the server calculates satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within the set time range according to historical satellite data; the satellite data corresponding to one partition comprises satellite data of each satellite passing through the space above the partition within the set time range;

step 703: and the server sends a response message to the first terminal, wherein the response message carries satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within the set time range.

Specifically, since the flow shown in fig. 7 and each possible implementation scenario thereof correspond to the flow shown in fig. 3 and each possible implementation scenario thereof in the present application, specific implementation and beneficial effects of the flow shown in fig. 7 and each possible implementation scenario thereof may specifically refer to the foregoing description of the flow shown in fig. 3 and each possible implementation scenario thereof in the present application, and will not be described herein again.

Based on the same inventive concept, the present application further provides a positioning apparatus, which can be deployed on a first terminal (for example, the terminal 102 and the terminal 104 shown in fig. 1) to execute the positioning method procedure on the first terminal side described in the foregoing embodiments of the present application, and functional modules in the apparatus can be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

Fig. 8 shows a schematic structural diagram of a positioning device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in fig. 8, the apparatus includes:

the determining module 801 is configured to divide a map into M partitions according to a set rule, and determine that satellite data corresponding to the N partitions in the map within a set time range in the future needs to be acquired, where M, N is a positive integer, and M is greater than or equal to N;

a sending module 802, configured to send a request message to a server, where the request message carries the indication information of the set time range and the N partitions;

a receiving module 803, configured to receive a response message returned by the server, where the response message carries satellite data that is calculated by the server according to historical satellite data and corresponds to the N partitions within the set time range; the satellite data corresponding to one partition comprises satellite data of each satellite passing through the space above the partition within the set time range.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further comprises:

a GPS module, configured to search for satellite signals using satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within the set time range carried in the response message after the receiving module 803 receives the response message returned by the server.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further comprises:

a transmission module, configured to transmit satellite data corresponding to the N partitions in the set time range to a second terminal if it is determined that a communication connection is established with the second terminal after the receiving module 803 receives the response message returned by the server, so that the second terminal searches for a satellite signal using the satellite data in the set time range.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further comprises: the input module is used for receiving an instruction for acquiring satellite data, wherein the instruction carries the information of the set time range and the N subareas;

the determining module is specifically configured to: and determining the set time range and the N partitions according to the instruction.

In one possible implementation, the satellite data of each satellite that passes over the partition within the set time range includes at least an identification ID, orbit data, and clock data of each satellite that passes over the partition within the set time range.

Specifically, since the apparatus provided in the above embodiment of the present invention has a similar principle to the method of the first terminal side provided in the foregoing embodiment of the present invention to solve the problem, the specific implementation of the apparatus provided in the above embodiment of the present invention and the implementation of the method of the first terminal side provided in the foregoing embodiment of the present invention can be referred to each other, and repeated details are not repeated.

Based on the same inventive concept, the present application further provides a positioning apparatus, which can be deployed on a server (for example, on the server 101 shown in fig. 1) to execute the server-side positioning method flow described in the foregoing embodiments of the present application, where functional modules in the apparatus can be specifically implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software,

fig. 9 shows a schematic structural diagram of a positioning device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in fig. 9, the apparatus includes:

a receiving module 901, configured to receive a request message sent by a first terminal, where the request message carries N partitions in a map corresponding to satellite data that the first terminal needs to acquire and indication information for setting a time range; the map is divided into M partitions according to a set rule, wherein M, N is a positive integer, and M is greater than or equal to N;

a calculating module 902, configured to calculate satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within the set time range according to historical satellite data; the satellite data corresponding to one partition comprises satellite data of each satellite passing through the space above the partition within the set time range;

a sending module 903, configured to send a response message to the first terminal, where the response message carries satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within the set time range.

Specifically, since the principle of the apparatus provided in the above embodiment of the present invention for solving the problem is similar to that of the method embodiment of the server side provided in the foregoing embodiment of the present invention, the specific implementation of the apparatus provided in the above embodiment of the present invention and the implementation of the method of the server side provided in the foregoing embodiment of the present invention can be referred to each other, and repeated details are not repeated.

The division of the modules in the embodiments of the present application is schematic, and only one logical function division is provided, and in actual implementation, there may be another division manner, and in addition, each functional module in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated in one processor, may also exist alone physically, or may also be integrated in one module by two or more modules. The integrated module can be realized in a hardware mode, and can also be realized in a software functional module mode.

Based on the same inventive concept, the application also provides a terminal, and the positioning device shown in fig. 8 can be deployed on the terminal.

Fig. 10 shows a schematic structural diagram of a terminal provided in an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in fig. 10, the terminal 1000 may include a processing unit 1001 and a wireless communication unit 1002. The processing unit 1001 may include a Central Processing Unit (CPU), or may also include a digital processing module, and the like.

Specifically, the processing unit 1001 is configured to divide a map into M partitions according to a set rule, and determine that satellite data corresponding to N partitions in the map within a set time range in the future needs to be acquired, where M, N is a positive integer, and M is greater than or equal to N; and is configured to send a request message to the server through the wireless communication unit 1002, where the request message carries indication information for setting a time range and N partitions; and the response message is used for receiving a response message returned by the server through the wireless communication unit 1002, wherein the response message carries satellite data which is obtained by the server according to historical satellite data and corresponds to the N partitions in the set time range, and the satellite data corresponding to one partition comprises the satellite data of each satellite passing through the space above the partition in the set time range.

As shown in fig. 10, the terminal 1000 can further include a storage unit 1003 and a GPS unit 1004; the storage unit 1003 may be configured to store satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within the set time range carried in the response message;

the processing unit 1001 may further be configured to: in the set time range, the satellite data corresponding to the N partitions in the set time range stored in the storage unit 1003 is read, and the GPS unit 1004 is instructed to search for satellite signals using the satellite data.

Specifically, the processing unit 1001, the wireless communication unit 1002, the storage unit 1003, and the GPS unit 1004 may be specifically configured to execute the method on the first terminal side provided by the foregoing embodiment of the present invention. This application is not described in detail herein.

The storage unit 1003 may also be used to store programs executed by the processing unit 1001. The storage unit 1003 may be a nonvolatile memory such as a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), and may also be a volatile memory (RAM), for example, a random-access memory (RAM). The storage unit 1003 is any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto.

The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific connection medium among the processing unit 1001, the wireless communication unit 1002, the storage unit 1003, and the GPS unit 1004. For example, the connection may be via a bus, which may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc.

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a readable storage medium, which is used for storing software instructions required to be executed for executing the processing unit, and includes a program required to be executed for executing the processing unit.

Based on the same inventive concept, the application also provides a server, and the positioning device as shown in fig. 9 can be deployed on the server.

Fig. 11 shows a schematic structural diagram of a server provided in an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in fig. 11, the server 1100 may include a processing unit 1101 and a wireless communication unit 1102. The processing unit 1101 may include a central processing module, or may also include a digital processing module or the like.

Specifically, the processing unit 1101 is configured to receive a request message sent by a first terminal through the wireless communication unit 1102, where the request message carries N partitions in a map corresponding to satellite data that the first terminal needs to acquire and instruction information for setting a time range; the map is divided into M partitions according to a set rule, wherein M, N is a positive integer, and M is greater than or equal to NM; the satellite data processing device is used for calculating satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within a set time range according to historical satellite data; satellite data corresponding to one partition comprises satellite data of each satellite passing through the space above the partition within a set time range; and is configured to send a response message to the first terminal through the wireless communication unit 1102, where the response message carries satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within the set time range.

In particular, the processing unit 1101 and the wireless communication unit 1102 are specifically configured to perform the server-side method provided by the foregoing embodiments of the present invention. This application is not described in detail herein.

As shown in fig. 11, the server 1100 may further include a storage unit 1103; the processing unit 1101 may further be configured to: satellite data issued by each satellite in the GPS is acquired, and the acquired satellite data is stored in the storage unit 1103.

The storage unit 1103 may also be used to store programs executed by the processing unit 1101. The storage unit 1103 may be a nonvolatile memory such as a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), and may also be a volatile memory (RAM), for example, a random-access memory (RAM). The storage unit 1103 is any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to this.

In the embodiment of the present application, a specific connection medium among the processing unit 1101, the wireless communication unit 1102, and the storage unit 1103 is not limited. For example, the connection may be via a bus, which may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to the application. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present application without departing from the scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as well.

Claims

1. A method of positioning, the method comprising:

dividing a map into M partitions according to a set rule, detecting operation on a menu by a first terminal, and determining that satellite data corresponding to the N partitions in the map within a set time range in the future needs to be acquired;

the menu comprises a first UI control for providing a set time range in the future selected or input by a user and a second UI control for providing a partition to be selected or required partition information to be input; the operation is generated by selecting or inputting a set time range in the future on the first UI control by a user, and selecting N partitions or inputting partition information of the N partitions on the second UI control; m, N is a positive integer, and M is greater than or equal to N;

the first terminal receives a response message returned by the server, wherein the response message carries satellite data which are obtained by the server according to historical satellite data and correspond to the N partitions in the set time range; the satellite data corresponding to one partition comprises satellite data of each satellite passing through the space above the partition within the set time range;

2. The method of claim 1, wherein after the first terminal receives the response message returned by the server, the method further comprises:

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first terminal determining that satellite data corresponding to N partitions within a set time range in the future needs to be acquired, comprises:

the first terminal receives an instruction for acquiring satellite data, wherein the instruction carries the set time range and the information of the N subareas;

4. A method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the set rule is to divide the map by longitude and/or latitude; or, the set rule is to divide the map according to administrative regions.

5. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein the satellite data for each satellite over the partition within the set time range includes at least an Identification (ID), orbit data, and clock data for each satellite over the partition within the set time range.

6. A method of positioning, the method comprising:

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said historical satellite data is satellite data published by each satellite in the GPS that said server obtains and stores on said server.

8. A terminal, characterized in that the terminal comprises: a processing unit and a wireless communication unit; wherein,

the processing unit is used for detecting the operation on the menu and determining that satellite data corresponding to N partitions in a map in a future set time range needs to be acquired, wherein the menu comprises a first UI control for providing a future set time range selected or input by a user and a second UI control for providing partition selection or partition information input; the operation is generated by selecting or inputting a set time range in the future on the first UI control by a user, and selecting N partitions or inputting partition information of the N partitions on the second UI control; m, N is a positive integer, and M is greater than or equal to N; and the number of the first and second groups,

the wireless communication unit is used for sending a request message to a server, and the request message carries the set time range and the indication information of the N partitions; and the number of the first and second groups,

the server is used for receiving a response message returned by the server through the wireless communication unit, wherein the response message carries satellite data which is obtained by the server through calculation according to historical satellite data and corresponds to the N partitions in the set time range, and the satellite data corresponding to one partition comprises the satellite data of each satellite passing through the space above the partition in the set time range;

the terminal further comprises: the device comprises a storage unit and a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit; wherein,

the storage unit is configured to store satellite data corresponding to the N partitions within the set time range, where the satellite data is carried in the response message;

the processing unit is further configured to:

and in the set time range, reading satellite data corresponding to the N partitions in the set time range stored in the storage unit, and using the satellite data to instruct the GPS unit to search satellite signals.

9. The terminal of claim 8, wherein the terminal further comprises: an interface unit;

the processing unit is further configured to:

and when the communication connection with a second terminal is established on the interface unit, transmitting satellite data corresponding to the N partitions in the set time range to the second terminal through the interface unit, so that the second terminal uses the satellite data to instruct a GPS unit in the second terminal to search satellite signals in the set time range.

10. The terminal of claim 8, wherein the terminal further comprises:

the input unit is used for receiving an instruction for acquiring satellite data, wherein the instruction carries the information of the set time range and the N subareas;

the processing unit is specifically configured to:

and determining the set time range and the N partitions according to the instruction for acquiring the satellite data received by the input unit.

11. A terminal according to any of claims 8-10, characterized in that the rules are set for dividing the map by longitude and/or latitude; or, the set rule is to divide the map according to administrative regions.

12. The terminal of any of claims 8-10, wherein the satellite data for each satellite over the partition within the set time range includes at least an identification ID, orbit data, and clock data for each satellite over the partition within the set time range.

13. A server, characterized in that the server comprises: a processing unit and a wireless communication unit; wherein,

the processing unit is configured to receive, through the wireless communication unit, a request message sent by a first terminal, where the request message carries N partitions in a map corresponding to satellite data that the first terminal needs to acquire and indication information of a set time range, and the map is divided into M partitions according to a set rule, where M, N is a positive integer, and M is greater than or equal to N; and the number of the first and second groups,

the satellite data corresponding to the N partitions in the set time range is calculated according to historical satellite data; the satellite data corresponding to one partition comprises satellite data of each satellite passing through the space above the partition within the set time range; and the number of the first and second groups,

and the wireless communication unit is used for sending a response message to the first terminal, wherein the response message carries satellite data corresponding to the N partitions in the set time range.

14. The server of claim 13, wherein the server further comprises: a storage unit;

the processing unit is further configured to: and satellite data issued by each satellite in the GPS is acquired, and the acquired satellite data is stored in the storage unit.